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The short kings of Hanna-Barbera
A collection of our favorite fun-sized characters
Hanna-Barbera's classic cartoons have a feature that stands out: they really make sure to include short characters. Almost every cartoon has one or two short characters, and if the show is animal-focused like Magilla Gorilla or Wally Gator, the most important human characters are usually short kings.
"Short king" is a term of endearment for shorter individuals who still stand tall and prove that great things often come in small packages.
Let's take a look at the short kings of Hanna-Barbera.
Barney Rubble
One of Hanna-Barbera's first short kings, Barney from The Flintstones was modeled after Ed Norton from The Honeymooners. Interestingly, lots of characters call Barney "Shorty", but Fred never does.
Mr. Spacely
George Jetson's short-fused boss, Mr. Spacely, is one of the three human characters outside of the immediate Jetson family, so they needed him to be sized a little differently to stand out amongst the tall Jetsons and robots.
Mr. Twiddle
Like many of the animal-themed HB shows, some fans have speculated that maybe Mr. Twiddle is drawn so tiny because he's standing next to Wally. Some alligators are up to 15 feet long, so anyone would look short standing next to that. But, until proven otherwise, we happily include Mr. Twiddle as a Hanna-Barbera short king.
Major Minor
Snagglepuss's main frenemy, who hunts Snagglepuss one moment and then has tea with him the next. Something about his mustache reminds us of the original cartoon short king: Yosemite Sam.
The King
The King in Yippee, Yappee, and Yahooey is tasked with running a kingdom while dealing with three airhead guard dogs. His short stature makes him perfect for getting on Yippee, Yappee, and Yahooey's level to boss them around more.
The Ant Hill Mob
The Ant Hill Mob in Wacky Races is a gang of short kings! They are allies with the beautiful Penelope Pitstop, and writers for the show said they based the Ant Hill Mob's relationship with her on Snow White and the Seven Dwarves.
Mr. Peebles
Perhaps our favorite of the short kings, Mr. Peebles is the pet store owner who always wants, no needs, to sell Magilla Gorilla, but terribly misses Magilla every time he leaves. Mr. Peebles faces the never-ending struggle of wanting his friend to stay, but going bankrupt on bananas!
Scrappy Doo
We couldn't do a short kings story without our all-time favorite pipsqueak! Fun fact, Scooby-Doo creators Ruby-Spears almost went with a short, scrappy dog instead of the big, goofy Scooby. Luckily, we eventually got Scrappy in Scooby-Doo and Scrappy-Doo, and the franchise has never been the same.
